


change

by fortunatehearts



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Endgame Spoilers, Fix-it fic, Getting Together, M/M, Mention of Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter - Freeform, im really sad, this is mostly for me to cope with steve’s ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 12:10:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18637870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortunatehearts/pseuds/fortunatehearts
Summary: MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERSOne thing had to change, such a tiny thing. Lang’s hesitation, Stark’s insistent command, maybe even Loki’s position from the door. That’s all it took. Lang pulls the plug, Stark slips away with the tesseract, and Loki stays in the custody of SHIELD.That’s too simple a fix. So here’s my take on it.





	change

**Author's Note:**

> hi, i watched endgame and cried so here’s me trying to pretend that everything is ok

He was given the job to find more of Pym’s serum while Stark got to look for the tesseract. Even though he may have been able to sneak in and grab the four vials they needed, it still, of course, raised suspicions to the people around the two who had no clue who Steve and Stark were. So that meant Steve had to slip into some random person’s office and hightail it out of there when the moment was right. 

But he didn’t anticipate this. 

Steve sees her through the blinds of her office and she’s as beautiful as the day they met. He doesn’t want to ruin this timeline but he has to say something to her. He stands around like a lovesick idiot for a few more seconds before Peggy’s head shoots up in alarm.

They’re mere feet away from each other and all he can do is look like a fish out of water when their eyes meet. Peggy’s eyebrows furrow in confusion and then it dawns in her who exactly is looking through the window.

She rushes to the door that goes into her office and Steve simply watches her. She bursts through and with her voice full of disbelief she calls to him,‘Steve?’

Peggy approaches him slowly and with tears welling up in her eyes she removes his hat to get a better look at him. Her eyes flit over the small creases in his forehead and slight dark circles under his eyes. One of her hands comes up to cradle the side of his face and Steve lets out a small tired sigh. Her eyes search his for another long moment. ‘You’re not him, are you?’ 

Steve shakes his head softly and his eyes slowly shut. ‘But I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.’ His heart beats steady and consistent, he can hear her small puffs of breath and matches it with his own. His eyes open and he sees the tears running down the sides of her face. Her lips quiver as she tries to compose herself. His face slightly mimics hers but Peggy’s is much more pained. This worries him and his emotions get the best of him when he starts to say, ‘I could stay-‘

‘No,’ her stern voice breaks through his. Her jaw is set, she won’t argue this any further. 

Steve can’t help but continue his thought, ‘I still owe you that dance.’ 

‘There are people who need you right now. Are you willing to watch people suffer, who you know need your help?’ The tears have stopped and her voice burns up the nostalgic fog in his brain. There’s a long pause as the cogs begin to slowly move again. She smiles solemnly and kisses his cheek. ‘Go back to them, I can handle this on my own.’ 

Steve simply nods. ‘Thank you, Peggy… for everything.’ 

‘Goodbye, Steve.’ She gives him a small pat on the cheek then drops her hand. He slips out of her office and makes his way out of the building with her soft touch and steady words still in his mind. He really wanted to believe for a selfish second that he could get back what he lost over 70 years ago, but what does that say about the others who he’s fighting to get back at this very moment? 

He watches Stark talk to a man he doesn’t recognize and silently urges him to hurry up with his objective. Stark hugs the man awkwardly for a few seconds and that’s all it takes for Steve to realize that the man Stark is talking to is Howard. So, he wasn’t the only one who needed a little bit of talking to. 

The small bit of hope he has sits perched in his chest and it builds exponentially. His heart is a million times lighter and he’s remembered who he has to come home to. 

-

The fight leaves a mark like a long strenuous war but it likely lasted about 10 minutes. He can’t deny that it was a battle in the making.

Steve falls to the ground on his knees. If his heavy breaths and the dull pain on the right side of his face are anything to note than surely he should be allowed a few seconds to at least compose himself. He kneels on the ground for an extra minute as he tries to adjust his bearings but his body is so exhausted he can’t move a single muscle. Soon the serum will take affect and start healing his body but even Steve’s not sure if the serum was prepared for millions of volts of electricity to course through his body. So he stays there. And when Steve hears footsteps approach him but he doesn’t bother to check because he knows who’s coming. 

‘Catching some shut eye, old man?’ a familiar voice beckons. Steve opens one eye and catches two figures standing over him. 

Steve sighs playfully, ‘Couldn’t they have sent Wanda to come help me?’ 

‘Nope, that’s our job,’ Bucky replies and then squats down beside Steve. ‘C’mon big guy, let's get the fuck outta here.’ Bucky and Sam both grab an arm and start lifting him up. The shield lies broken and abandoned a few feet away from them but none of them bring it up. It’s a silent and steady walk to the ship sent from Wakanda to help tend to the injured. 

They lay Steve down on one of the beds and then say something to him about meeting with him later. He hums as a response before drifting off into a deep sleep. 

As soon as his body has stabilized, he wakes up. First his eyes stare up at the bare ceiling, then he hears the machines next to him that are set to monitor his vitals. 

Once his body comes to, he notes the weight on his right leg. If the long dark brown hair and masculine form are anything to go by he would mistake it for Bucky. But it is him. His soft breaths fill the mostly silent room and Steve can hardly resist the urge to wake him up but who knows what complications occurred while Steve was out like a light. This may be the only sleep Bucky allowed himself to get.

But that small moment is quickly interrupted when Shuri enters the room, ‘Barnes! You were supposed to tell me when he woke up!’ Bucky startles and looks at Shuri but then turns around to see Steve. ‘Whatever, it does not really matter, it was just an experiment to see if you actually would,’ she snickers then continues, ‘I actually set up a tool to automatically notify me.’ 

‘Wait a sec-‘ Bucky starts, but is interrupted by Shuri again. 

‘How are you feeling, Captain?’ Her childlike joy has returned as well as her scheming wit.

‘I’m feeling great, Shuri. Thank you so much for your help, I’m still trying to process everything.’

‘I completely understand. I will leave the rest to Barnes.’ She gives Bucky a small smile and exits quietly to attend to other matters. 

‘What happened, Buck?’ Steve immediately asks. It feels like a reverse deja vu, because this time Steve can’t remember most of what went down that day. Bucky meets his eyes after a moment, ‘We have to go back, Steve. Stark didn’t make it.’ Steve nods, absorbing this information. It comes back to him all at once. Stealing the stones, the snap. Pepper and Peter. 

Bucky doesn’t say anything more. They both understand the choices they made that led up to this moment. And the choices made for them. 

When they’re on the ship going straight to Stark’s lakeside home up north, neither of them want to say anything but there’s still so much up in the air from before the snap, before everything, really. It was only them at the beginning and here they are now. They’re sat on opposite sides of each other, both dressed in black. 

‘On my mission to get you all back, I saw Peggy,’ Steve begin. His gaze is towards the floor but he can still gage Bucky’s reaction because this statement clearly gets his attention. He doesn’t reply or ask questions but he nods carefully to show that he’s listening. ‘I thought that maybe this was my second chance. This is the way it’s supposed to be…’

‘But?’ Bucky inserts, because he knows Steve all too well. 

‘The moment passed and it hit me just how much I’ve missed you. When-,’ Steve pauses for a moment to swallow the anxiety building deep in his gut. He lifts his gaze in order to meet Bucky’s calculating stare. ‘When I found out you were still alive, that was my second chance… and I took you for granted.’ 

‘Steve…’ Bucky warns him because he can tell where Steve going and it’s a very dangerous path. ‘You don’t have to-‘

‘I want to. It’s something I’ve wanted to say for a long time but I was too scared to admit it to myself.’ Steve stands up and instinctively Bucky mirrors him. 

‘I’m not the same person I was 75 years ago.’ His voice comes out not any louder than a whisper. ‘We’ve both changed-‘

‘I don’t love you any less than I did when we were two trouble makers in Brooklyn or when I snuck into Azzano because I thought you were alive or the last time I saw you in Wakanda.’ Steve reaches for Bucky’s hands. One made of human flesh and one of metal. ‘It doesn’t make a difference because I’ll always love you.’ 

Bucky tears his gaze away from Steve as his face heats up. ‘You’re a punk.’ 

Steve pulls him into a tight hug. They both let out a long sigh before Steve replies,‘Jerk.’

-

‘Okay, he’ll be gone for about 5 seconds to us but for him it’ll be as much time as he needs.’

He’s gone.

1…

2…

3…

4…

5…

And then he’s back.

**Author's Note:**

> i didn’t know how to fix this and make it happy but here was my best effort to go and do that 
> 
> my tumblr is mcuclown (just a warning i trash on tony a lot and i only care about steve, bucky, and sam) 
> 
> who knows if i’ll still be in this fandom for any longer but it was a wild fun ride while it lasted


End file.
